Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 121854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 609(@200wpm)___ 487(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
* * *
* * *
They just barely stumbled into the dinner on time. Illium managed to close the front placket of his black suit as they reached the door to the formal dining chamber. That suit hugged his chest and thighs and everywhere else and was made of a thin material that acted as armor.
This one, however, had been embellished with silver scrollwork down one side to make it clear he wasn’t declaring battle, but being a respectful guest and wearing his best. Aodhan reached out to settle the other man’s hair with his fingers, while Illium made sure Aodhan’s traditional tunic-style suit, the color a pale gold, was sitting properly.
“Illium!” Charo, tiny and dazzling and a whirlwind, flew over from where she was talking to the twins, Nala and Zuri, to hug Illium so hard, it should’ve been impossible for such a small woman.
“You’ll break me, Charo!” Illium protested but he was lifting her off her feet even as he did so, and pressing a kiss to her rounded cheek. “So,” he whispered, “any signs of grandchildren yet?”
“I will murder you if you bring up that subject in front of my mother,” Charo threatened.
Aodhan didn’t hear the rest, because Isiel had come over to tell him all about a young artist whose work he thought Aodhan would appreciate. He felt it when Eh-ma and Titus walked in, caught their welcome of Illium out of the corner of his eye.
And he most definitely felt it when First General Avelina stepped into the room. Amber-eyed and not much shorter than Aodhan, the woman who’d birthed five of the people in the room—including an archangel—was a deadly warrior with skin of onyx, wings of rich cream swirled with honey, and a mass of curls that she usually wore in fine braids, often with bronze threads woven into them.
She’d let her hair out for tonight, her precision-separated black curls a glory against the forest green of her simple ankle-length sheath. Simple, that is, until she moved and the material flowed around her like water, displaying a stunning black-on-white print from this region.
Aodhan was both fascinated by the fabric, and itching for his sketchpad.
He’d drawn the first general in her favored leathers, but never in this avatar—power unleashed in a way most unexpected in one of the most dangerous fighters in the world. He tried to memorize everything he could about her in this moment, but she moved with rapid fluidity to greet Eh-ma as Eh-ma did the same, and theirs was the greeting of two strong women who were both comfortable in their power and felt no need to flex it.
Aodhan caught a breath. I’m going to paint this scene, he told Illium. The Hummingbird and First General Avelina, second to Archangel Alexander. They are extraordinary.
“Tito!” Avelina looked to her son, then turned her cheek, pressing a finger to one.
Titus—wearing armor similar to Illium’s but in bronze, with a hummingbird in flight detailed over his shoulder—bent to kiss her as directed, as if he wasn’t the archangel and she the angel. Because in this room, there were no titles except those of family. Here, Titus was “Tito,” Avelina’s youngest child and the petted and spoiled little brother of four strong-willed older sisters.
The conversation was joyful and chaotic over dinner, and despite their oft-avowed “fear” of the first general, her children weren’t afraid to speak their minds and push back against their powerhouse of a mother. Avelina had raised all five to be vibrant and unique personalities. Their lovers and partners were either as animated, or as tranquil as water, just flowing in and out.
It worked, the gathering a mix of people who just clicked.
That included Aodhan and Illium.
“Illium.” Avelina pinned Illium with her gaze. “I hear you are to be made a general. Why am I the last to know?”
Illium’s lips kicked up. “I’m afraid you’ve been misinformed, First General. I am a wing commander and, being in only my seventh century of life, unlikely to be considered for the position of general for some time yet.”
A vee between Avelina’s eyes, the merest flicker in her gaze, before she reached for Aodhan’s mind. Every single senior warrior in the Refuge is saying this.
Raphael will be the one who decides was all Aodhan said, and Avelina left it at that. Because while they were family, they were also loyal to two different archangels—and in the court of a third. It was complicated and beautiful and Aodhan was delighted to be a part of it. But nothing delighted him more than having his Blue by his side, listening to him reply to Avelina with a charm and wit that made the first general’s eyes fill with humor, or Charo’s with warmth, Eh-ma’s with a pride echoed in Titus’s gaze.
Illium was extraordinary.
And he was Aodhan’s.
Today
39
Illium, bring up territory. Stake your claim.